2 suspects arrested in Irvine burglaries

March 5, 2009 12:00:00 AM PST

IRVINE, Calif. --

Residents in Irvine are feeling much more comfortable in their homes now that two suspects in a string of daytime residential burglaries are in custody. The young men were arrested Thursday, and are being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.Mason Sloan Heroux, 18, and Nicholas James Snyder, 19, both of Irvine, were arrested shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday after police responded to a call that someone had attempted to enter a home in the area of Ashwood and Lakeshore, Irvine police Lt. John Hare said.

The intruder, after peering into windows, determined no one was home, went through an unlocked gate in the backyard and got inside through an unlocked door, and was later seen leaving the area in a black Toyota Highlander SUV, Hare said.

Officers, who found the Highlander and saw two young men standing near the SUV, determined that one of them matched the description of the person seen at the home and questioned both before arresting them, Hare said.

The pair allegedly were in possession of property stolen during residential burglaries from homes where doors had been left unlocked, Hare said.

At the time of the arrests, three victims had been identified, he said. One was located by an officer who followed a stray black poodle to a residence. The dog had apparently escaped through a gate left open by intruders, Hare said.

Police believe there are additional victims because the burglaries took place during the day while people are at work, the lieutenant said. The property recovered by officers included a laptop computer, cameras, watches and iPods, Hare said.

Both Heroux's and Snyder's occupations are listed as "student" on the sheriff's jail Web site.

The two suspects were expected to make court appearances on Friday.

Anyone who believes they were a victim was asked to call Irvine Police Department Detective Charles Shaver at (949) 724-7178.